From Fox news

[Cbus cardsfan]

Speed is the most overrated aspect when people try and decide who is a good corner and who isn't. Granted, you need speed but CB is just as much an instinctual position as anything else. Look over the years, Lester Hayes was not a burner. I may be faster than Ty Law. Aeneas Williams was not known as a speed guy. HOF candidate Roger Wehrli was by no means a burner. DeAngelo Hall may be the fatsest guy in the league and he gave up more big plays than anybody this year. Rolle is definitely fast enough to be a top cover CB.He needs to improve technique and the instincts will hopefully come with more seasoning. BUt people who think he's too slow to be an elite CB are just plain wrong. Whether he gets to that level or not remains to be seen.

 

[Mitch]

Samuel
Steinbach
Gandy
Shaun McDonald
Daniel Graham
Ken Hamlin

Not to mention RFA's to re-sign, Rookie pool; a new contact for Dansby during the season (and possibly others based on next season production); injury contingency fund...

ALL THIS FOR $36 MILLION in a seller's market.

Pleasant dreams, Mitch.

I think Arizona has become what Tampa Bay was several years ago...the trendy place for free agents to target...the new coaching staff...the new stadium...finally a QBOP&F in Matt Leinart...Edgerrin James...etc.

Look for the Cardinals to make a major splash in free agency this year. They have the cap space...and look at it this way, CC...

2007 Cap Hits:

Samuel: $9M
Steinback: $8M
Gandy: $4M
Graham: $3M
McDonald $2M

Total: $26M

Draft:

1. Trade with ATL to #10...add ATL's 3rd. Pick: Reggie Nelson, S, Florida. Cards strike gold at #10 two years in a row.

2. Lamarr Woodley, OLB/DE, Michigan. A pass rushing edge player who would be ideal down the road as a 3-4 OLB.

3A. Josh Wilson, CB, Maryland. Instinctive player.

3B. John Abbate, LB, Wake Forest. Tough as nails.

4. James Marten, T, Boston College. Needs coaching and weight training.

5. Dan Mozes, C, West Virginia. Smart, competitive.

6. Jared Zabransky, QB, Boise St. Was at home in Glendale in the Fiesta Bowl, now he gets to buy a home in Glendale.

There's the dream, CC!!!

 

[Zeno]

1. Trade with ATL to #10...add ATL's 3rd. Pick: Reggie Nelson, S, Florida. Cards strike gold at #10 two years in a row.

Who would Atlanta be trading up to get?

 

[Crazy Canuck]

I think Arizona has become what Tampa Bay was several years ago...the trendy place for free agents to target...the new coaching staff...the new stadium...finally a QBOP&F in Matt Leinart...Edgerrin James...etc.

Look for the Cardinals to make a major splash in free agency this year. They have the cap space...and look at it this way, CC...

2007 Cap Hits:

Samuel: $9M
Steinback: $8M
Gandy: $4M
Graham: $3M
McDonald $2M

Total: $26M

Draft:

1. Trade with ATL to #10...add ATL's 3rd. Pick: Reggie Nelson, S, Florida. Cards strike gold at #10 two years in a row.

2. Lamarr Woodley, OLB/DE, Michigan. A pass rushing edge player who would be ideal down the road as a 3-4 OLB.

3A. Josh Wilson, CB, Maryland. Instinctive player.

3B. John Abbate, LB, Wake Forest. Tough as nails.

4. James Marten, T, Boston College. Needs coaching and weight training.

5. Dan Mozes, C, West Virginia. Smart, competitive.

6. Jared Zabransky, QB, Boise St. Was at home in Glendale in the Fiesta Bowl, now he gets to buy a home in Glendale.

There's the dream, CC!!!

And a pleasant one it is.

Now don't confuse it with reality a few months down the road...

 

[Mitch]

Who would Atlanta be trading up to get?

DT Alan Branch

 

[Zeno]

DT Alan Branch

Ah, ok that makes sense. Washington or Miami could grab him before they had a chance if they stayed at 10. Is DT that big of a need on ATL that they would even consider trading up?

 

[cardsfanmd]

I don't see how you wouldn't want Briggs or Thomas...they are both stud OLBers...and the last I checked Orlando Huff was still starting.

I am not going to pretend like i know a whole lot about briggs or chicago, but i have season tickets to the ravens and have seen more of thomas than most. You have to take into account that his defensive linemen are containing the blockers and teams have tended to place an emphasis on getting away from r. lewis and bart scott who are imo the two best lbs in the afc. i like dansby and hayes. im having trouble explaining myself, i just think we will get more value out of samuels or clements. not anti lb signing just pro cb signing. for the record though, i think by next year wiz will have us playing a 3-4 which thomas is better suited for if you plan to use him as a lb

 

[cardsfanmd]

I guess an improved and more consistent pass rush from the front four wouldn't have any effect on the cover abilities of our current CB's huh?

of course it would but you cant blame all of our pass defense problems on the d-line-personally i would like to grab alan branch or okoye in the draft to help the line but to say that help isn't needed in the secondary is a bit off imo

 

[Cards Czar]

Ah, ok that makes sense. Washington or Miami could grab him before they had a chance if they stayed at 10. Is DT that big of a need on ATL that they would even consider trading up?

No FS is the bigest need for Atl. But now Miami might be the choice for the Cardinals to trade with. All the DT's in Miami are FA and are long in the tooth.

They only have 17.5 mil. They have a crap load of starters below and cant sigh them all. I have been hearing on other boards that they really like DT Branch.

Player Position Type 2007
Adams, Keith LB UFA -- Back up to Thomas
Barnes, Darian FB UFA --Starting FB
Bell, Yeremiah S RFA -- Starting SS
Berger, Joe OG ERFA
Bowens, David DE UFA -- #3 DE on the Team
Denney, John LS ERFA--Starter
Eckel, Kyle RB ERFA
Fonoti, Toniu OG UFA-- Backup RG
Holliday, Vonnie DT UFA -- Starter
Jackson, Eddie CB RFA - 3rd stringer
Jacox, Kendyl C UFA -- Starting LG
Jones, Donnie P RFA ---Starter
Lehan, Michael CB UFA - Nickle back
Lemon, Cleo QB RFA #2 Backup
McIntosh, Damion OT UFA --- Starting LT
Minor, Travis RB UFA #3 RB
Morris, Sammy RB UFA--#2 RB
Newman, Keith LB UFA
Spragan, Donnie LB UFA -- Starting SLB
Tillman, Travares S UFA -- Backup SS
Traylor, Keith DT UFA -- Starter
Vickerson, Kevin DT ERFA -- Backup
Welker, Wes WR RFA -- # 4 WR/KR
Zgonina, Jeff DT UFA --#2 behind Holliday




Navy Mike

 

[Redheart]

...
17 Chicago 23.4
18 Seattle 22.5
19 Dallas 21.5
20 Miami 17.8
21 NY Giants 15.7
22 Oakland 14.1
23 Houston 13.3
24 Philadelphia 12.4
25 Atlanta 10
26 Denver 7.6
27 Kansas City 7
28 Baltimore 5.7
29 Indianapolis 4.9
30 Carolina 3.4
31 Washington 0.95
32 Pittsburgh 0.15

....

Somebody is spreading the cake around.

 

[joeshmo]

Who would Atlanta be trading up to get?

Atlanta will have a much bigger need for a DE then DT.

Kelsay is a UFA, and Abraham is the most fragile DE in the league.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

Rolle just as fast? Am I missing something?

Both him and Samuel ran about a 4.5 forty at the combine, and the knock against him was that he wasn't fast enough. Raider's fans wanted to move Asomugha over to FS over there because for his first two season (remember Rolle has only played about one season due to injury) he was horrible. This year Asomugha was the second best corner in the league. Corners who don't have elite speed just take a little more time to develop better instincts to compensate for it. Nate Clements (who I think is a better cornerback than Asante Samuel) would just be a waste of money when Rolle clearly has the potential to be a number one corner in this league. Give him a pass rush and a decent free safety and he should be fine.

 

[ajcardfan]

Both him and Samuel ran about a 4.5 forty at the combine, and the knock against him was that he wasn't fast enough. Raider's fans wanted to move Asomugha over to FS over there because for his first two season (remember Rolle has only played about one season due to injury) he was horrible. This year Asomugha was the second best corner in the league. Corners who don't have elite speed just take a little more time to develop better instincts to compensate for it. Nate Clements (who I think is a better cornerback than Asante Samuel) would just be a waste of money when Rolle clearly has the potential to be a number one corner in this league. Give him a pass rush and a decent free safety and he should be fine.

Old dirt, I agree that Rolle is fast enough to play corner. You'd think he has about 5.0 times in the 40 the way people talk about him around here. His problem, as I see it, is in technique and confidence, not physical skills. Maybe the new coach can get him to grow.

That said, putting Samuel or Clement across from him would be a major coup. But, there's NO WAY the Pats let Samuel walk when they have that much cap space. It ain't going to happen, this is not a Deion Branch type of situation.

 

[Mr.Dibbs]

Green and Rolle MIGHT develop into decent cb's, but as of now they kinda suck. That needs to be addressed.

Could it be bad coaching didn't help their progress last year? Sure, but as of now they kinda suck. Macklin is outta here, so we don't even have decent depth. CB is a concern.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Both him and Samuel ran about a 4.5 forty at the combine, and the knock against him was that he wasn't fast enough. Raider's fans wanted to move Asomugha over to FS over there because for his first two season (remember Rolle has only played about one season due to injury) he was horrible. This year Asomugha was the second best corner in the league. Corners who don't have elite speed just take a little more time to develop better instincts to compensate for it. Nate Clements (who I think is a better cornerback than Asante Samuel) would just be a waste of money when Rolle clearly has the potential to be a number one corner in this league. Give him a pass rush and a decent free safety and he should be fine.

good point

 

[Redsz]

Nate Clements (who I think is a better cornerback than Asante Samuel) would just be a waste of money when Rolle clearly has the potential to be a number one corner in this league. Give him a pass rush and a decent free safety and he should be fine.

Agreed on both counts. Clements hasn't had the benefit of playing in the Patriots system.

 

[Brighteyes]

A question from someone less versed in defensive backs: will changing our coach in that position help at all?

 

[Duckjake]

Look for the Cardinals to make a major splash in free agency this year. They have the cap space...and look at it this way, CC...

What about Leinart? I heard the Cards owe him some big money as a participation bonus from last season. I asked about this a while back and no one responded. When do incentive bonus payments hit the salary cap?

I heard one reason the Cards were doing extensions heavy into last year's cap was because of the big hit they were going to take in '07 with Leinart's bonus. of course that was on B&MJ show so it may just be nothing.

 

[Denny Green Fan]

Who would Atlanta be trading up to get?

I would need a second rounder from Atlanta if a deal is made with them

 

[BigRedArk]

of course it would but you cant blame all of our pass defense problems on the d-line-personally i would like to grab alan branch or okoye in the draft to help the line but to say that help isn't needed in the secondary is a bit off imo

We need depth and competition at CB and S. Combine that with an improved pass rush and hopefully better CB coaching, scheming and it is possible that the Defensive Backfield isn't as weak as it seems to be on the surface. It is too soon to give up on Rolle at CB IMHO.

 

[Denny Green Fan]

Atlanta will have a much bigger need for a DE then DT.

Kelsay is a UFA, and Abraham is the most fragile DE in the league.

U mean Patrick Kerney